jim demint served three terms as a u.s. congressman from south carolina before voters first elected him to the senate in 2004. mike emanuel is on capitol hill tonight. it's a big resignation,. >> jim demint says is he leaving the senate, shep he is not leaving the fight. in fact, demint might be able to spend more time on issues he is most passionate about at the heritage foundation. he explained his thinking on "special report" a short time ago. >> i think i'm in a more powerful position than a single united states senator. i wouldn't feel good about leaving if we didn't have so many new bright young conservatives now in the senate. but it's time that conservatives take control of our message and let americans know what we can do to make their lives better. earlier fellow south carolina senator lindsey graham sounded truly shocked by the news. >> on a personal level, i have lost my colleague and friend, jim and i have known each other for almost 20 years now and i think we have done a pretty darn good job for south carolin